The ride sharing company Uber will invest over $360 million in Mexico with the goal of more than doubling its number of drivers in the country by the end of next year, company officials said this week.

The company is seeking to have 500,000 drivers, up from the 220,000 it has grown to since it began providing services in the country in August 2013, said Carlos Oliveros, the head of communications for Uber Mexico.

Mexico is the third largest market for Uber, with about 7 million registered users, Oliveros said. The top two markets are the United States and Brazil, though Oliveros did not give information on the number of users there.

Similarly, Mexico City is the company’s second largest market after São Paolo, out of more than 600 cities where it provides services. The company is seeking growth in markets in Latin America and other regions, Oliveros said.

"Mobility and public transportation is something that is not sufficient and Uber is getting to those cities to try to improve the mobility," Oliveros said. "We know that we have an opportunity to win."

Uber has competed with other ride sharing applications including Yaxi and Easy Taxi in Mexico, but it has been the most popular and also the biggest target for criticism of unfair competition from traditional taxi companies.

Oliveros says the company pays 1.5 percent of every ride in Mexico City to the local government and that it has worked to comply with other local regulators in the country.